Last week’sStart the Weekend Right Link Series featured many articles that I bookmarked way back in 2011. This week, I am posting some links to some more recent articles. In fact, most of these articles are from the last month or two. I hope that you enjoy reading them!

As always, though, before we get to this week’s links I again want to strongly recommend signing up for a free Feedly account. I get absolutely no kickback for promoting Feedly, but I am so appreciative of their product being the best RSS reader on the internet and I encourage everyone to use it. If you are using another RSS aggregator, please consider following JerseySmarts.com at http://www.jerseysmarts.com/feed/. If you are already on Feedly, then you can follow us by clicking here. Thanks!

Hulk Hogan v. Gawker (Marc Randazza Legal Analysis), Danger & Play
One of the biggest stories in media right now is Hulk Hogan’s victory in court against Gawker Media. Gawker has several websites – none of which have a shred of journalistic integrity. These websites do all that they can to destroy and damage people just for the sake of clicks and pageviews. They epitomize everything that is wrong with what people think the media is today. Gawker should not be categorized as a media source – they are barely worth mentioning as a tabloid. This link will take you to a great, quick set of bullet points outlining how badly Hogan beat Gawker in court. In addition, there is a video of the author speaking with a free speech lawyer about the verdict.

Is Rice Healthy For Me? Does White vs Brown Rice Matter?, Nerd Fitness
While the end result of this very astute investigation is, “it depends,” I strongly encourage you to read this article if you are a rice eating person like me. For my part, I have always been one of those people who does not automatically default to the brown version of everything (e.g. selecting whole wheat over white versions of products). This article made me realize that given the frequency with which I eat rice, I really should be eating brown rice instead of white rice. There is a lot of great information in this piece and I think you will enjoy reading it.

When You Find Out a Coworker Makes More Money than You Do, Harvard Business Review
There are some realities that most people have to recognize, face, and accept. One of those realities is that if you work for someone else, then you are not the highest paid person in the company. Period. And while my short example accentuates the differences between bosses and employees, this article provides some strategies on how to approach a different situation. Namely, the situation that occurs when you find out that a coworker (someone who you might consider an equal or even a subordinate) is making more money that you at your company. I am a big believer in not worrying about what other people are making and, instead, focusing on achieving your own success. I am also a believer in working outside jobs and starting your own company (or companies, if you have the time and inclination) to augment your salary. Ideally, that outside work will eventually supersede your salary and allow you to break free from working for someone else.

Coleco Pulls Out Of Faltering Chameleon Console (RetroVGS) Project, Retro Collect
I have always been fascinated at the moving and changing of the video game industry. Watching the ebbs and flows of video game companies, their gambles, and their successes has not only been a fun observation for me, but it also helped me make a few bucks off of those companies when I was more actively involved in the stock market. One of the most intriguing observations that I have about the industry today is the influence that retro gaming is having on the current market. There are a lot of people who are actively seeking a way to reject the big gaming companies and return to a time of cartridge-based gaming. To that end, RetroVGS started a crowd-funding campaign to start such a system. That campaign ultimately failed, but then legacy video game company Coleco came in to take up the mantle of the project… until they pulled out of the entire thing earlier this month.

The Beginner’s Guide to Meditation and Why You Need It, Live Limitless
This is not a short article by any means, but it is packed with information that you might find interesting if you are seeking more knowledge about meditation. Learning more about meditation is a non-priority goal that I have for myself. Specifically, I have been looking for a way to marry the peace that I encounter from my religious beliefs with a full body relaxation technique.

Obesity Changes How People View World: Study, Newsmax
According to the research presented in this article, if you are overweight, then you see the world differently. No, the research does not suggest that you only feel different about the way the world views you, but that you literally see objects as farther away. Interesting stuff.

City’s 1st CO-OP Coming to Asbury Fresh Summer Market, Asbury Park Sun
And in some local news – it looks like there will be a co-op option at the Asbury Park Summer Market this year. Several years ago I joined a community supported agriculture (CSA) farm that was about 15 minutes from my home. The promise of the CSA farm was that if you purchased a share (or, in my case, half a share), then you would be able to go to the farm and pick a certain amount of produce each week. That particular CSA farm worked well during the first year that I was a member, but the next two years were abysmal. Since then, I have been looking for a similar, local option.

The Collapse of Oil IS the Economic Boom, Reason
Another very interesting article about how the pending economic boom that everyone is waiting for is actually here. How is it here, you ask? Well, the precipitous drop in oil prices is something that impacts nearly every American adult. Further, while there have been some layoffs because of the price dropping, there are a lot more people who are experiencing more money in their accounts because they are not paying as much for gas as they were just a few months ago.

How To Make Your Own Rain Barrel Watering System, The Good Human
If I owned the type of home that had a big backyard that I could plant a substantial garden in, I would definitely be into putting something like a rain barrel watering system together. There is no question that I would have several of these barrels in my yard specifically for watering my plants and my garden (which would be packed with tomatoes and basil). Unfortunately, I do not think it is feasible to have something like this on my current backyard patio. Oh well!

Shrinking the White Male—and His Culture, Minding the Campus
As I often mention in these and other posts, young white men are being intellectually attacked on college campuses on a daily basis. This very short article is in that vein, but at a different level of the college campus. In this article, the author looks at language that many of you have seen in job postings about your potential employer embracing diversity and not holding any characteristic against you during the hiring process. The author then applies that language to the reality of the individuals that make up the department to which the job posting refers. The result is interesting, but what really stuck with me was the near-aside that ends the article. That is, that college students are new 60% women and 40% male. Where is the outrage about that inequality?

Just sharing some of the latest pictures from our community supported agriculture (CSA) farm take. As you can see, the farm is heavy on yellow squash and zucchini. However, we also picked up some very small eggplants and some green peppers (and one purple pepper which I added to an omelet the other morning – it was delicious).

According to my calendar, we have six weeks left for the CSA farm this season. I might try to work my way in there at some point during the off season to see what’s going on and whether they have any other types of organic food that we can purchase. Stay tuned for more pictures from the farm.

Unfortunately, I’m a slight bit behind in terms of showing what we’re getting from the local community supported agriculture (CSA) farm. However, I won’t let that stop me from posting some pictures for you guys to see. Below are the images of our take from the CSA farm when we went there on Saturday, September 4th (Labor Day Weekend).

As you can see, we picked up more vegetables (especially yellow squash and zucchini) than we have in the recent past. Also, I can tell you that the share we received from Saturday, September 11th was pretty substantial, which is a good thing. Stay tuned – more pictures in the coming days…

Earlier today, I wrote about how much produce we picked up at the local CSA farm on September 4th. Well, we were also there on September 11th and though I don’t have a picture of the produce that we picked up, I do have a picture of some truly free-ranging chickens that were walking around the farm. Take a look below (click on the image to get a full-size picture).

Pretty cool, huh? The alternative to having these chickens freely ranging around the farm is to have them all cooped up in ridiculous small cages, pecking at each other for sustenance since they’re not able to find food on their own. It’s gross what the industrialized farms do to their animals – which is why I like seeing these chickens walking around like they own the place each week!

Right from the get-go let’s understand that there’s no need for you all to be jealous, folks. 🙂 Below are two pictures of the omelet that I made for breakfast yesterday morning (typically, I make an omelet for breakfast on Sunday mornings). As you’ll see, there are a bunch of vegetables from the CSA farm strewn throughout this mess. A list of ingredients is available below the pictures.

Sunday morning breakfast - side shot

Sunday morning breakfast - top shot

Okay, so right off the bat you should know that the wheat toast and the eggs are from Wegmans, not the farm. The ingredients from the local CSA farm are: fresh garlic, green peppers, yellow squash, and red tomatoes. I added the mushrooms (a lot of mushrooms – also from Wegmans), bacon bits, and some salt and pepper. It was absolutely delicious!

Part of what makes the food that I make with farm food so tasty is the fact that the organic produce seems to have more “punch” in terms of flavor. The garlic is much more potent than the stuff you buy at the store, the green peppers actually have a strong peppery taste, and the yellow squash is great. I’m looking forward to picking up more of this delicious produce this Saturday!